Ms Aoibh?nn Doyle:

My local bus is from New Ross but I could not get a direct bus from New Ross to Dublin. I would have to get a bus from New Ross to Wexford town, get off and change to another bus. This costs a lot of money. When you add this up and you ask your parents for the money if you do not have it, it is as cheap to go in the car for affordability and handiness. Many parents have concerns about safety if it is their child's first time on that bus. Does the child know where to get off? Oftentimes, for people from rural areas, coming into an urban setting can be quite daunting. You think, "Okay, where do I get off? Where do I go now? I am lost." Making it more affordable would help. A lot of young people in urban areas might have a Leap card, which incentivises them to use public transport. Something similar to that for rural areas might be nice. Parents and students would be love see more public transport but it is not available.

My school has lots of private buses that deliver students to the school. Many students avail of these services and there are waiting lists for those buses because not everybody can get on them. As the school I attend is technically not my local school, I cannot avail of a bus so there is no bus provided. We had a private bus for a time but it was about €50 per week, which is a lot of money for my sister and I as we attend the same school. Making it affordable and a less daunting experience would help. It is about building those habits. Parents and students would be more incentivised to do it if it was made more affordable and there were more routes or more direct routes.